Chili-Lime Beef and Black Bean Bowls with Avocado Creme

So today is day 4 of quitting smoking. I've smoked for 22 years!  I always said I would never quit because I loved smoking (when in fact, it was the fact that I did not have faith in myself to actually quit that stopped me)

I've never really had much will power.  Anything that I've tried in the past has successfully failed due to not having the willpower to deny myself something for longer than 5 minutes! I was desperate to lose weight, but my negative self talk had me believing that my will power was NEVER going to let me do it, even with the amazing products that we have, will power is still a necessary part of the journey.

I literally was bullying myself into staying over weight, because that's how I'd been treated my entire life. But then I woke up one day and I had just decided that I wasn't going to do this any more - I wanted to prove to myself that I can resist bad foods, if I can do the one thing I never EVER thought I'd be able to do - quit smoking.

And well, it's now Day 4 and I'm quitting smoking. I've lapsed a few times, and had a smoke and the old me would have shut me down on the spot, and put the entire packet back into my hand, but the new me resisted, and didn't see me having a smoke as a failure, but as a triumph! I was smoking 25+ a day, down to 1 or 2! THATS AMAZING!

Today is the first ENTIRE smoke free day I've had, and I feel amazing - I can do things without losing my breath instantly. I feel way more clarity, and I'm already exercising (and obsessed with) yoga, and searching for healthy recipes - such as this one that I'm about to share with you, from http://healthyaperture.com

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about 4 medium limes)
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1 pound boneless thin beef sirloin tip steak (may be labeled as “for carne asada”)
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 ripe tomatoes, diced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 ripe Haas avocado
• 5 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 cups hot-cooked rice
• Sliced fresh jalapeno and lime wedges (garnish)

Directions

1. Combine lime juice, chili powder, chipotle pepper and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside 1 teaspoon of mixture in a separate small bowl.
2. Place half of remaining mixture in a large zip-top bag. Add beef to zip-top bag, shake bag to coat meat and marinate in refrigerator at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
3. Add black beans, tomato and cilantro to reserved lime juice mixture in medium bowl; toss and store in refrigerator until ready to serve.
4. Slice avocado in half and remove pit. Scoop flesh into bowl of a small food processor. Add remaining 1 teaspoon lime juice mixture and cream to food processor; pulse until smooth. Add cilantro and pulse just until combined. Store covered in refrigerator until ready to serve.
5. When ready to prepare, heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Remove meat from bag (discard marinade). Grill beef 2 - 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove from pan and let rest 5 minutes. Slice into ¼-inch strips.  
6. Arrange rice among serving bowls; top evenly with beans and beef. Drizzle with avocado  crema.

This will be my dinner tonight!

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